monday reviews is our latest blog series where we provide the facts about different project management tools—no BS and no hyperbole needed. Keep scrolling for our analysis and to learn more about all the project management tools out there. Enjoy! 😊
When it comes to managing remote teams, your choice of project management tool could skyrocket your success — or cause you to crash and burn.
The last thing you want to do is commit to a project management software and find out that you’re paying through the nose for something that barely does what you need.
It’s like buying a really shiny Lambo because everyone says that’s the thing to buy. Except what you really needed was a sedan with plenty of trunk space.
We’ve compiled the most relevant features for Basecamp pricing so you can see if the platform will meet your needs and if it’s worth the price tag.
Is Basecamp free?
It’s natural to want to take a project management app out for a spin before you actually commit to making it your workhorse.
Depending on which platform you’re considering, each has a different “trial” period. Some tease you just long enough to get you hooked before asking you to upgrade.
Others let you in for a significant amount of time (maybe even forever) — but the truly useful features lie just beyond the paywall gate.
Basecamp is smart — it gives you both options and asks you to choose.
Free Plan: Basecamp Personal
Basecamp Personal is Basecamp’s newest plan (since the end of November 2019). It’s also their primary “FREE” plan.
It’s a personal project tool designed for freelancers, individuals, families, student projects, and small teams that only need “light use”. You can still collaborate with others and assign tasks on a limited basis.
Basecamp Personal plan’s features include:
- 3 projects
- 20 users
- 1 GB of storage space for file sharing
- Available on web, iOS, Android, Mac, and PC
Besides these features, the user interface gives you access to project tools such as:
- The Message Board
- To-Dos
- Docs & Files
- Campfire
- Schedule
- Automatic Check-ins
The most powerful aspect of Basecamp Personal also happens to be its limitations: the simplicity of its functionality.
There are no frills with the Personal account and you’ll quickly hit that 1 GB file size limit — especially if you’re collaborating with others.
And there’s the rub. The Personal account can be stifling for users who truly want to incorporate the tool into the way they work.
Basecamp also offers a free 30-day trial of its paid plan, so you’ll have time to try it out on different projects.
What type of pricing plans does Basecamp offer?
Businesses that invest in “tried and tested” project management practices and software waste 28 times less money than those who don’t, according to the Project Management Institute (PMI).
In other words, finding the right task management software is an investment that pays off.
When you find a platform that aligns your team communications, productivity tracking, and process, there’s less friction and more action.
So, the question is, can a Basecamp account provide enough of a productivity boost to offset its price tag?
Let’s take a look at the features of this collaboration tool.
Basecamp Business (also known as Basecamp 3)
As Basecamp 2, also known as Basecamp Classic, evolved into Basecamp 3, one of the most significant changes was to Basecamp pricing. Instead of tiers, the team decided to offer one simple pricing option: $99/month.
The Business plan now includes unlimited access to all of Basecamp 3’s features, eliminating the messy tiered pricing of Basecamp 2.
Instead, for a flat subscription rate of $99 per month, users get all of the following:
- Unlimited projects
- Unlimited users
- 500 GBs of file storage
- Dedicated team project space (for team communication)
- Unlimited clients and granular control over what clients can see
- Project templates (useful for recurring tasks)
- Priority support for any feature
- A wide range of third-party integrations, such as Zapier, Toggl, Akita, Proposify, and more
What’s unique about the $99/month subscription fee is that the Basecamp app doesn’t charge for additional users. However, this also means you don’t pay less if you have a small team.
Users can also take advantage of a 15% discount if they pay for an annual subscription.
Is Basecamp the best project management software for you?
It’s hard to give a clear answer to this question. Basecamp doesn’t offer a lot of flexibility in pricing and plan structure, so it ultimately depends if one of their two plan options can meet your needs and budget as is.
Let’s take a look at what we offer here at monday.com, to see how it stacks up as a Basecamp alternative.
What is monday.com?
As a team collaboration solution, monday.com looks familiar. But it operates entirely differently.
Where other project management platforms focus on tasks and projects, monday.com empowers workflows and processes.
It harnesses the power of unique features you won’t find in other common teamwork management software, which is why we fondly refer to it as a Work OS — monday.com goes beyond improving just your project work. It offers the ability to improve how everyone works, across your entire business.
Boards, customizable column types, whiteboard collaboration, timeline and calendar views, guest sharing, chart views, and popular integrations power-up monday.com’s unique approach to project management.
Users of monday.com find that its lightweight and flexible enough to be adapted to a broad range of productivity-related priorities including:
- As a CRM and sales pipeline
- As an ad campaign manager
- As a software development bug tracking tool
- As a video production or content organization suite
But how much does it cost?
How does monday.com pricing work?
The pricing structure for monday.com offers huge flexibility based on the features you’re looking for, the size of your team, and whether you want to pay annually or monthly.
Unlike Basecamp, monday.com lets you choose between 4 different plan options, and modify your pricing based on how many seats or users you need.
Here’s a quick breakdown of our 4 plans:
- Basic: Great for a small team looking to tackle simple tasks and improve their personal productivity.
- Standard: Our most popular plan. Ideal for a larger team to collaboratively manage, view, execute, and improve their work.
- Pro: Perfect for multiple teams who need to tackle more complex workflows and want to boost efficiencies across departments and projects.
- Enterprise: Designed for any enterprise-level organization that tackles large, complex projects (say goodbye to your eyesore of a Gantt chart).
Like any effective tiered pricing structure, each plan builds upon the previous one. And you can test drive the platform for 2 weeks for free before making your choice about whether monday.com is right for you.
Check out our pricing page to play around with the different pricing options and find the perfect solution for your team and budget.
Conclusion
Basecamp might win out on price if you’re a solopreneur looking for a few basic project management features. Or if you have a large team that can get by with the Business functionality and can save money with a flat fee.
But, if you fall anywhere outside of those two boxes (I.e., a small-to-mid-sized team, a larger team with more complex workflows, an enterprise business, etc.) then Basecamp’s pricing suddenly looks a lot less attractive.
While we might be biased, we believe that as a true OS, monday.com offers a more flexible and full-featured solution.
Of course, the right choice for you comes down to what you need it for.
But with a monday.com subscription, you’ll have access to automated workflows, advanced integrations, sophisticated analytics and dashboards, and seamless transparency throughout your entire company.
And it’s made to grow with your business.
If you’re ready to learn more, reach out and get in touch with our team. You can also find a few nifty, ready-to-go templates designed to help you gain traction on your projects, stat.
